How the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change

The Resolution approving establishment of the Assembly outlines five topics to be considered by the Assembly. How the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change was originally scheduled to be considered last. However in January 2017 the Members of the Assembly decided that this topic should be considered third.

Consideration of this topic has concluded and a Final Report and Recommendations will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas shortly.

Submissions

The Assembly invited members of the public, representative groups and citizen organisations to make a submission on this topic. The submissions process formally opened on 12 June 2017 and closed at5pm on 11 August 2017.

Signpost Document

This Signpost Document aims to identify, in order of popularity, the key issues/topics/themes which presented in the submissions. The full text of the 1,185 published submissions is available to read here. The Assembly Secretariat has grouped them into broad thematic areas and has attempted to present a selection of the perspectives which were received.

Recommendations

The recommendations were reached by ballot paper voting and follow two weekends of deliberation which focussed on the energy, transport and agriculture sectors, international best practise and existing national policies and activities.

A total of 13 questions appeared on the ballot and the recommendations were reached by majority vote.

The following recommendations were made by the Assembly;

98% of the Members recommended that to ensure climate change is at the centre of policy-making in Ireland, as a matter of urgency a new or existing independent body should be resourced appropriately, operate in an open and transparent manner, and be given a broad range of new functions and powers in legislation to urgently address climate change. *

100% of the Members recommended that the State should take a leadership role in addressing climate change through mitigation measures, including, for example, retrofitting public buildings, having low carbon public vehicles, renewable generation on public buildings and through adaptation measures including, for example, increasing the resilience of public land and infrastructure.

80% of the Members said they would be willing to pay higher taxes on carbon intensive activities **

96% of the Members recommended that the State should undertake a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of all critical infrastructure (including energy, transport, built environment, water and communications) with a view to building resilience to ongoing climate change and extreme weather events. The outcome of this assessment should be implemented. Recognising the significant costs that the State would bear in the event of failure of critical infrastructure, spending on infrastructure should be prioritised to take account of this.

99% of the Members recommended that the State should enable, through legislation, the selling back into the grid of electricity from micro-generation by private citizens (for example energy from solar panels or wind turbines on people’s homes or land) at a price which is at least equivalent to the wholesale price.

100% of the Members recommended that the State should act to ensure the greatest possible levels of community ownership in all future renewable energy projects by encouraging communities to develop their own projects and by requiring that developer-led projects make share offers to communities to encourage greater local involvement and ownership.

97% of the Members recommended that the State should end all subsidies for peat extraction and instead spend that money on peat bog restoration and making proper provision for the protection of the rights of the workers impacted with the majority 61% recommending that the State should end all subsidies on a phased basis over 5 years.

93% of the Members recommended that the number of bus lanes, cycling lanes and park and ride facilities should be greatly increased in the next five years, and much greater priority should be given to these modes over private car use.

96% of the Members recommended that the State should immediately take many steps to support the transition to electric vehicles. ***

92% of the Members recommended that the State should prioritise the expansion of public transport spending over new road infrastructure spending at a ratio of no less than 2-to-1 to facilitate the broader availability and uptake of public transport options with attention to rural areas.

89% of the Members recommended that there should be a tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. There should be rewards for the farmer for land management that sequesters carbon. Any resulting revenue should be reinvested to support climate friendly agricultural practices.

93% of the Members recommended the State should introduce a standard form of mandatory measurement and reporting of food waste at every level of the food distribution and supply chain, with the objective of reducing food waste in the future.

99 % of the Members recommended that the State should review, and revise supports for land use diversification with attention to supports for planting forests and encouraging organic farming.

Question 1* Such functions and powers should include, but not be limited to those outlined below.

To examine any legislative proposals, it considers relevant to its functions and to report publicly its views on any implications in relation to climate change; the relevant Minister must respond publicly to the views expressed in a report prior to the progress of the legislative proposal;

To propose ambitious 5 year national and sectoral targets for emissions reductions to be implemented by the State, with regular review and reporting cycles;

To pursue the State in legal proceedings to ensure that the State lives up to its legal obligations relating to climate change.

Question 3** Subject to the following qualifications

Qualification 1: Any increase in revenue would be only spent on measures that directly aid the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient Ireland: including, for example, making solar panels more cheaply and easily available, retrofitting homes and businesses, flood defenses, developing infrastructure for electric vehicles.

Qualification 2: An increase in the taxation does not have to be paid by the poorest households (the 400,000 households currently in receipt of fuel allowance).

Qualification 3: It is envisaged that these taxes build year-on-year.

Question 9*** Electric Vehicles

Develop an expanded national network of charging points;

Introduce a range of additional incentives, particularly aimed at rural communities, to encourage motorists towards electric vehicle ownership in the short term. Such measures should include, but not be limited to, targeted help-to-buy schemes, reductions in motor tax for electric vehicles and lower or free motorway tolls.

Measures should then be introduced to progressively disincentives the purchase of new carbon intensive vehicles such as year-on-year increases in taxes on petrol and diesel, motor tax and purchase taxes for petrol and diesel vehicles.

Reports

Once completed the Report by the Assembly will be available here.

Video Archive

The Citizens’ Assembly was live streamed and therefore available for the public to view.